'Dropout Nation' a story of hope

Updated 3:22 pm, Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Frontline's "Dropout Nation" features Sharpstown High School, including student Lawerance.

Frontline's "Dropout Nation" features Sharpstown High School, including student Lawerance.

Photo: Frontline

Image 2 of 2

Sharpstown High School graduation ceremony, June 3, 2012, Houston, TX. 455 students entered the class as freshmen, 217 made it to graduation.

Sharpstown High School graduation ceremony, June 3, 2012, Houston, TX. 455 students entered the class as freshmen, 217 made it to graduation.

Photo: FRONTLINE

'Dropout Nation' a story of hope

1 / 2

Back to Gallery

Frank Koughan was looking for a school plagued by problems and desperation but still holding out hope that something new could turn things around.

HISD's and Sharpstown High School's dropout rates caught his eye, and it was the district's Apollo 20 program that brought the TV producer to the city to produce a film, "Dropout Nation," that tells the story of efforts to improve graduation rates.

Sharpstown High is featured in the film, to air at 8 p.m. Tuesday on Houston PBS Channel 8.

Last spring, FRONTLINE spent a semester following four Sharpstown students. A five-man crew became a fixture in classrooms and halls of the school for a film that captured the unique, hands-on approach that helps students succeed and stay in school.

More Information

"Houston appealed to me because it was a place that historically had a serious dropout problem, but they were taking steps to try and rectify the problem. It was a lot more engaging than filming in a place where they were just watching kids drop off and doing nothing about it," said writer and producer Koughan.

In 2010, the Apollo 20 program was launched in four high schools and five middle schools to combat the dropout problem. One year later, 11 elementary schools were added. The program is centered on five tenets: have effective principals and teachers in every school, more instructional time, use of data to lead instruction, high-dosage tutoring and a culture of high expectations for all. The ideas were identified by Dr. Roland Fryer of Harvard University's Education Innovation Laboratory and are the foundation for the improvement of all Apollo schools.

The 2011 graduation rate for the district was 78.5 percent, up 4 percentage points from 2010 and 14 percentage points from 2007.

"When we started out with Apollo, people were saying we have a serious problem here. I said, 'No, no. We have an opportunity here,' " said Rob Gasparello, principal of Sharpstown High.

The struggle with these students, especially at Sharpstown, said Koughan, is not that the teens are having difficulty understanding the material but that they do not understand its importance.

"It's a hard thing to do. You're confronted with kids facing these tremendous circumstances, and you feel like an idiot trying to explain to them that it's really, really important that they pass algebra. No, it's actually really important they have something to eat tonight."

Gasparello and Campus Improvement coordinator Brandi Brevard work tirelessly, 10 to 12 hours a day, to reduce some of the burden on the students. This can involve picking up students to take them to school, providing snacks, having one-on-one meetings and sometimes even inviting students to live with them.

"People have criticized and said you give these kids too many opportunities and chances. But what's the alternative? Let them leave, drop out and disappear? No, we won't do that," said Gasparello.